Friday, January 25, 2013

Nerd is the Word

Confession time: I love big nerdy fantasy books. I love horror novels. I love books written for teenagers. I love Gothic romances. I just love books.
So I have decided to compile a list of my favorites, because I like making lists, and because I love gaving new books suggested to me. These aren't in any particular order, just some that I love :)Lisey's Story- Stephen King. This is my favorite book in all the world. I love King's scary stuff (more on that further down), but this story is different. It's about a woman who loses her husband, and how the people that you love become a part of you that never goes away. It's a beautiful, heartbreaking story about the grieving process and love. It's wonderful. If you don't read anything else on this list, read this book.The Seer and The Sword - Victoria Hanley. I read this when I was in fifth grade, and read it at least five more times after that. This is a great "starter" fantasy novel for girls and fine for your kids to read, because there isn't any language or "thematic material" bum bum BUUUM. I read it again last year, and I still love it. This book is old, so you aren't going to stumble across it on accident, making it a great gift for a preteen who loves to read.A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray. This is the first in a book series that I DEVOURED in high school. It's kind of like Charmed plus scary plus Wuthering Heights. I wouldn't recommend these for anyone under 16, but after that, these are a must-read that will scare you just enough to be fun (these are fine to read before bedtime. Others are not, such as...)The Shining - Stephen King. I'll go ahead and tell you that King is my favorite writer. I read pretty much everything he publishes (which is A LOT.) This is probably my favorite of his "scary" set. Also, the movie is good, but completely misses the point, but that is a long and involved term paper of a rant that I will not burden you with. Anyway, this book is worth the hype, just don't read it anytime after dark because you WILL get the heebie jeebies.The Passage - Justin Cronin. This one is not for the faint of heart. Not only is the plot literally century-spanning, Cronin has an awesome vocabulary and he makes good use of it. You may need to make yourself a flow chart to keep track of all the characters, but this book is super good and very hard to put down. It also has one of the most unique plots I have encountered in my 21 years of book-devouring.Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepherd. Yep. I read these. And yep. I super enjoy them. Not as much as I enjoy the TV show because the show makes the characters more accessible, but for a guilty pleasure yarn you really can't beat these (I'm looking at you, Gossip Girl, and shaking my disappointed head.)Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis. The best part about reading is that you get to live a life that isn't yours that you would never get the chance to experience otherwise. In this case, the drugs and sex and other questionable decision-ridden life of the RHCP frontman. Don't read it if you're squeamish, but it is certainly insightful.Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk. Another one not to read if you're the least bit squeamish. The book has all the shock value and violence of the movie, but told a bit more artfully, I think. There isn't a shirtless Brad Pitt anywhere but I'm ok with this since I still haven't forgiven him for the Jen vs. Angie debacle.Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller. A Christian book that doesn't read like a Christian book. Miller is refreshingly candid when talking about his time as a Christ follower at a super-liberal college. The prose in this book is beautiful. Even if you aren't a Christian, you will appreciate this book.Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones. I love how simple her books are. This one is particularly entertaining. The movie is good too, I've heard, though I haven't seen it and I don't know if I could get past the fact that Batman is Howl's voice.Outlander - Diana Gabaldon. Time travel and Scottish men. Seriously, what more could you want? I haven't kept up with this series (since there are like 10 books now and they are all roughly the size of a brick), but the first book and it's sequel Dragonfly in Amber had me in tears of happy and sad and laughing and crying and it was a bog snotty wonderful mess.The Fault in Our Stars - John Green. Speaking of big snotty messes, I dare you to get through this book without having a teary meltdown. It cannot be done. But really, this story is so well done and delicate matters are handled perfectly. His best book to date, in my opinion.The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan. Another series I haven't kept up with like I should. There was a time when plots were concise and the character count didn't number in the thousands. It was a simpler time and it was pure fantasy fun. This book is one of those times.The Name of The Wind - Patrick Rothfuss. I love this book, and the sequel The Wise Man's Fear is just as good. Rothfuss is a master world-builder and I love his narrative voice. His characters are likable and his frame story is relatable. Now he just needs to finish the third book. Like, now.